Bradley has accepted a position at ESPN as a college baseball analyst, allowing the 2018 World Series champion to make a return to the diamond — just not as a player. Before getting selected by the Red Sox in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft, Bradley spent three seasons with the South Carolina Gamecocks and helped their program win back-to-back College World Series titles in 2010 and 2011.
“I’m honored to join ESPN and can’t wait to get started covering the game that I love,” Bradley said in a statement, per ESPN’s pressroom. “College baseball has grown a ton since I was at South Carolina, and I hope I can contribute to the sport’s continued growth and popularity through our coverage of the student-athletes who give it their all.”
Bradley’s golden years professionally came as a member of the Red Sox. He was a one-man highlight machine, capable of covering more ground than most big-league outfielders with a cannon of an arm. Bradley’s defensive web-gem reel is arguably the best of anyone in Boston’s franchise history and although he wasn’t the most feared hitter in the lineup, Bradley rose to the occasion when it presented itself. He crushed two timely home runs against the Houston Astros in the 2018 postseason, en route to helping the Red Sox win the American League Pennant, being named the ALCS MVP.
Retirement hadn’t been made official as Bradley stuck around baseball following brief runs with the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals. Bradley most recently logged a 40-game stint with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League and a 25-game run with the Triple-A Syracuse Mets last season. The longtime outfield magician handn’t officially filed his MLB retirement paperwork, which left the door (slightly) open for another return attempt, but the long-awaited answer has arrived.
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Bradley will debut as a game analyst on May 9 when No. 6 Tennessee hosts No. 9 Vanderbilt, alongside play-by-play commentator Tom Hart and analyst Kyle Peterson.
